Committee questions UofI hiring practices after Peter Gray incident

Nov. 30, 2012

Written by

Tara Bannow

Iowa City Press-Citizen

A University of Iowa Athletics Department oversight committee received an overview of the department’s hiring practices Thursday after a member of the Iowa state Board of Regents criticized the decision to rehire an official who had previously been observed behaving inappropriately.

N. William Hines, chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee, said he had ordered a report about how the department goes about its hiring practices.

Senior student athlete adviser Peter Gray, who resigned Nov. 5 after an internal investigation found he violated the university’s sexual harassment policy, had previously been employed at the university from 1993 to 1995 before he was rehired in 2002. According to the investigation, co-workers had observed troubling behavior during Gray’s first stint at the university.

Regent Bob Downer asked a few weeks ago why the decision was made to rehire Gray if his history of misconduct was so long-running.

In Gray’s case, a search was conducted, and Gray emerged as the top candidate, Hines said.

“I think it’s important that the public knows the athletics department operates on exactly the same set of basic rules as the rest of the university does,” he said. “There’s no special deals. There’s no shortcuts.”

If the vacant position is for a professional or scientific employee, the first step is to determine whether to conduct a search or hire a temporary employee, which often is done if it’s in the middle of a sports season, said Mary Curtis, UI’s associate athletics director of human resources and compliance. That decision is made by the position’s supervisor, she said.

“Every sports season happens at different times,” she said. “Heavy recruiting times are at different times of the year. Some units are very busy at different times.”

The hiring process includes 11 steps, including meeting with athletics human resources for advisement on special requirements and recruitment, appointing a search committee, conducting reference checks, conducting credential and background checks, and seeking permission to offer the position.

PCA members participate at the search phase for assistant coaches and anyone who deals directly with student athletes, either in academic or on a sports level, Hines said.

At this point, it’s unclear whether Gray’s position in the athletics department will be filled. Eventually, the person who supervises that position will evaluate whether it should be filled or left vacant.

Fred Mims, associate athletics director for athletic student services and compliance, was Gray’s supervisor. The investigation suggested Mims was aware of the harassment before the investigation in October and had even warned Gray about it several times. UI President Sally Mason and others haven’t said whether Mims will be disciplined for potentially failing to report or take action against Gray sooner.

Asked who specifically would decide whether to fill that position, Curtis said: “It’ll be whoever is the director of student services. Today, it’s Fred Mims.”